Pakistan supports Saudi Arabia in diplomatic row with Canada

Riyadh also said it will relocate thousands of Saudi students studying in Canada to other countries, while state airline Saudia announced it was suspending flights to Toronto.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to extend an olive branch on Wednesday, saying he would keep pressing Saudi Arabia on civil liberties but also saying the Gulf Arab state had made some progress on human rights.

Freeland sought to understand how they resolved those disputes, and asked for their support, the official said.

Women's rights advocates, charitable organizations, and civil rights groups, meanwhile, urged the worldwide community "to join Canada in calling for the unequivocal respect of women's rights in Saudi Arabia". Later, the Canadian government called for the immediate release of jailed activists.

Tensions have been high between the two countries since Monday, when Riyadh expelled Canada's ambassador, recalled its own envoy and froze all new trade and investments after Ottawa denounced a crackdown on rights activists in Saudi Arabia.

Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir two days ago ruled out any mediation efforts and said the kingdom was considering taking more measures against Canada for interfering in Saudi Arabia's domestic affairs.

The Saudi Ambassador to Canada said in an interview with al Arabiya television on Thursday that Trudeau's comments were positive, but more needed to be done.

"Diplomatic talks continue", he said.

The Minister of Civil Service, Sulaiman Bin Abdullah Al-Hamdan, who also heads the Training and Scholarship Committee - an affiliate of his ministry, explained that the committee's secretariat has been working 24 hours a day to provide support for Saudi missions overseas to help the smooth transfer of those on scholarship in Canada to other countries and universities.

"Both sides need to diplomatically resolve this together. They need to resolve it together", US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told a briefing on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported that Saudi Arabia was scaling back its dealings with some German companies amid a diplomatic spat with Berlin.

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